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Sound quality issues with iphone 6S Plus

SarZ

SarZ

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 11, 2008
170
106
I recently received an 6S plus after using an iPhone 6 for the past year

The first thing I noticed about the 6S plus was that its speaker quality (loudness and clarity) was significantly worse than my 6

I listen to a lot of music and podcasts using just the iPhone speaker and I was not impressed with the new phone.

Everything about the 6S plus is perfect for me except the sound issues

I was about to return the 6S plus but before I did I looked at the equaliser options on the music settings. In all the iphones I have owned I always have the equaliser set to off.

I couldn’t believe my ears when I set the equaliser setting to Late Night. The sound produced by the 6S plus was amazing, loud and clear.

This not only improved the sound of the music but also podcasts and games.

Could people try this on their 6S plus and comment if it has made a difference to the sound quality, good or bad
 
  • Like
Reactions: jlevy73 and petecee
Made no difference for me.

Update: Wow, big difference. I had to reboot my device and soon as I turned it on, the difference was significant. Thanks for the tip
 
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Thanks for this. I noticed the sound quality issue within seconds of powering my 6s+ on for the first time. My 6 just sounded more clear and crisp. After trying your solution with the equaliser tho, it sounds way better now so thanks again man!
 
While I have no reference to compare my 6s+ to (upgraded from a 5),

The 'Late Night' EQ preset actually dips the volume/bass a few dB and softens the highs a bit around 4kHz and up on headphones (checked on Sennheiser HD600's). But, strangely enough, on the iPhone speaker reproduction it does seem to tighten and focus upper mids and vocal frequencies between 1-4kHz a lot better.

Interesting...
 
When I use my Bose headphones the “Late Night” EQ preset degrades the sound quality so I turn it off.

I always thought that the equaliser settings was just for music playback but it seems to have made a difference to all the sounds produced by the 6S plus !
 
I always used the Bass Boost and Volume Limit to Max

Much better than my 6 Plus
 
The only complaint I have with the late night setting is when I send a text. The little sound it makes to let you know it's been sent sounds horrible. It distorts badly through the speaker. Everything else is a massive improvement for me though.
 
petecee said:
The only complaint I have with the late night setting is when I send a text. The little sound it makes to let you know it's been sent sounds horrible. It distorts badly through the speaker. Everything else is a massive improvement for me though.
Click to expand...

I use the Launcher app to have a “Music EQ” widget on the today view

I use that frequently to turn on and off the “Late Night” EQ preset . It’s off most of the time except when I listen to music, audiobooks etc
 
Wow thanks, made a huge difference for me too. I remember the days when the presets used to make the music higher, now they mostly make it lower. I never tried Late Night tho, awesome.

UPDATE: Over Bluetooth in my car is actually lower.
 
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Thanks so much for this. One of the only issues I had with my 6s+ was the sound quality compared to my old 6. This definitely made a difference.
 
penajmz said:
Wow thanks, made a huge difference for me too. I remember the days when the presets used to make the music higher, now they mostly make it lower. I never tried Late Night tho, awesome.

UPDATE: Over Bluetooth in my car is actually lower.
Click to expand...

I would definitely turn off "Late Night" if using headphones and Bluetooth
 
I tried the Late Night EQ with my 6S Plus. It makes the sounds more clear and crisp in addition to being louder.

However when I tried it on my iPad Air 2, it made the sound all weird.
 
garycoleman2 said:
I tried the Late Night EQ with my 6S Plus. It makes the sounds more clear and crisp in addition to being louder.

However when I tried it on my iPad Air 2, it made the sound all weird.
Click to expand...

I've tried the "Late Night" EQ with an iphone 6 and ipad air 2 and they don't have the same effect as the 6S plus. Don't really know why it has such a dramatic effect on the 6S plus

I'm happy since I was ready to send the 6S plus back due to the poor sound.
 
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